Adventures in the Land of Monsters
by kokoro62
Summary: Short stories about some of my experiences in the world of Monster Hunter. Mainly focus' on Monster Hunter Freedom Unite. Some of the stories connect with each other but most are just short stories about my experiences. Hope you enjoy!
1. Rumble in the Jungle

_**Disclaimer:** I do NOT own Monster Hunter!_

_**Disclaimer2:** The character Atherin belongs to me. He is not only one of my OCs, but he is also one of my in-game characters. The character Aradroth belongs to one of my friends who named his character that. _

_**Author's**_** Note:** Hello Everyone! I just wanted to let you all know that I am writing these short stories after my own experiences. I can't remember all the details of what happened, since I am more interested in keeping my character alive than to remember every little thing, but most of what happens is real. The conversations that the characters have are similar to what me and my friends were talking about at the time of playing, to the best of my memory at least. Also, all of these will be set in Monster Hunter Freedom Unite unless I state otherwise! I hope that you all enjoy them!

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><p>It was a hot, muggy day in the jungle. Two hunters had just arrived on the beach, their basecamp, and everything seemed to be okay… The more experienced hunter, Atherin, was donning his sexy new, paralysis resistant armor. His friend, however, Aradroth, was wearing the basic armor that one started out with…that was meant for snow covered mountain expeditions.<p>

"Atherin…it's SO hot out!"

Atherin looked over to his friend before shaking his head slightly. "Well it's your own fault for not doing any training…or getting any new armor."

Aradroth huffed slightly. "Can't you give me some of your items? Ya know…to perhaps MAKE some new stuff?"

"No. Now come on. We're wasting time just sitting here."

Aradroth grumbled slightly before following after Atherin. They left the beach area that they had landed at before heading into area one of the jungle. The interior of the jungle was much more humid and muggy, and to top it off, it was raining too. The only things in this area were the harmless Aptonoth, an herbivore that left hunters alone. It was a large, dinosaur looking monster that was dark grey in color and had black stripes going down its back. It also had a unique, large head crest.

Aradroth started to go after one before Atherin told him to just leave it alone. "We have bigger fish to fry so don't waste your time on something that's not gonna attack you."

Aradroth pouted, putting away his beginner dual swords. "Fine… Be a kill joy why don't ya…"

Atherin rolled his eyes slightly before digging in his back pack for a Psychoserum. "Our target is currently in area three," he said after a moment.

"Say what? How do you know that?"

Atherin sighed quietly before answering. "When you use a Psychoserum, it allows you to see where your target is for a short amount of time. You can buy it back at the village or make it yourself once you get the items needed. Now, come on, our monster won't stay in area three forever."

Aradroth nodded slightly before running on a head of Atherin. The jungle made it a little hard to travel, let alone see what was in front of you, but the two managed. Aradroth had run on ahead into the next area, but when Atherin heard him scream did he pick up his pace, fearing that his novice friend had run into the monster that they were currently after, the Congalala.

Atherin groaned, however, when he saw his friend. He had somehow stumbled upon a Velociprey nest and they were swarming him. "Of course…" Atherin muttered before drawing his sword to save his butt. The Velociprey were a bright blue color raptor-like monster. It had black stripes going down its back and a dull red head crest. They liked to travel in packs and ambush inexperienced hunters, thus being the bane of a lot of new hunters.

Atherin quickly finished off most of the Velociprey, letting Aradroth carve from them to get some items to make some new armor. While Aradroth did that did Atherin take out another Psychoserum. He groaned when he saw that the Congalala had moved to area nine.

"Hurry up Aradroth! The Congalala is already in area nine!"

"Alright, alright! I'm hurrying!" he yelled back. After carving his last Velociprey did Aradroth run over to where Atherin was waiting for him. However, he tripped over one of the vines that were commonplace throughout the jungle, toppling into Atherin and making him drop his last Psychoserum and break it.

"Oops… I'll buy you another one when we get back!"

"It doesn't matter. We'll run into it eventually," Atherin replied, leaving Aradroth behind. The novice hunter jumped when he heard another Velociprey in the area.

"H-Hey! Wait for meeeeeeeee!"

In area three, the original place where the Congalala was, were some regular Congas. The fat, pink ape-like monsters rushed at the two hunters when they spotted them. Surprisingly enough, they weren't as hard to beat as two hunters thought that they would be. After carving up the carcass' did they head down into area nine. However…the Congalala was nowhere to be seen.

Atherin groaned again. "Come on. It couldn't have gotten too far ahead of us…" he said, leading the way back down into the first area. The jungle heat wasn't doing either hunter any good and the rain wasn't letting up any either.

The two trekked back through the jungle THREE times and still didn't find any traces of the Congalala. They were now back in area three, frustrated and healing themselves from going through the Velociprey nest again.

"You sure it's around these parts?" Aradroth asked as they, once again, went through area nine.

"I'm sure. Monsters have a certain pattern that they follow. We just keep missing it," Atherin replied. Aradroth sighed before racing on ahead. He disappeared back into area one to start the search once again,

"Holy hell! I think I found it!" he yelled back. "Arrgggh! Yeah…that's definitely it…"

Atherin nearly face-palmed, "Again? You've gotta be kidding me…" he sighed before rushing off to help.

When Atherin got to area one he watched for a moment as the large, pink Congalala plowed right through his friend, who went rolling away in a daze from the attack. Of course, the fat, pink ape just HAD to choose the densest part of the jungle to appear in.

Atherin readied his sword before going in, so then Aradroth could heal himself. The Congalala spotted him and charged at him. Luckily though, was that Atherin managed to move out of the way just in time. Once he regained himself did he run over to the jungle menace and started to attack it. He kept it occupied before his friend came over to 'help' again. The Congalala didn't seem to notice, or care, that the weaker hunter was 'trying' to hurt it. Its main focus was Atherin, who was getting ready to attack again. The pink jungle beast stood up onto its hind legs, its stomach enlarging like a balloon as it prepared for another attack.

Atherin swung, his sword bouncing off the monster's stomach. He growled slightly in frustration before trying to move to the side to get at it. Aradroth was doing his best to whittle down its health, but with his dinky beginner swords he wasn't doing all that much.

However, before either hunter could really start wailing on the Congalala, the massive, pink jungle ape did a belly flop, nearly squishing the two under its bulk. The aftershocks caused some additional damage, making Aradroth faint and have to re-spawn back at the base camp. Atherin got up quickly; running away from the pink jungle beast so then he could heal while it was stunned. The Congalala was soon back on its feet, charging at Atherin again. The hunter managed to move just in time before taking one more healing item. Once that was done did he go on the attack again, just barely noticing that Aradroth had made it back with him and was now heading towards him.

The three fought long, hard and manically…but to no avail. Aradroth had died for a third time, leaving Atherin exposed to an enraged Congalala alone. He stood no chance in hell. The next thing that the two hunters knew, they were both facing a 'Quest Failed' sign. They were both taken back to the Hunter's Guild, bruised and a bit battered.

"Aww man… We totally got our asses handed to us," Aradroth complained.

"Yeah well…you're the one that picked this quest while I wasn't looking. This fiasco is all you buddy."

Aradroth pouted, "Well how was I supposed to know that we'd be fighting against a fat, pink monkey?"

Atherin rolled his eyes as they went over to the registration counter again. "Well, perhaps if you had read through the entire quest, you'd have known." Aradroth just made a face at Atherin, which earned him an elbow to the gut.

"Next time I'LL pick where we're going," Atherin said.

"Are we gonna go back to the jungle?

"Hell no. I don't wanna listen to you whine about how hot it is or manage to stumble into a Velociprey nest again."

"But I!"

"No. We're not going back to the jungle, so just shut it. Besides, I know the next Quest that we're going on," Atherin said, smirking as he held up the Quest Information in front of Aradroth's face. "I think it's just perfect for someone like you."

Aradroth blinked, looking and reading the Quest over. He moved Atherin's hand down to look at him.

"You can't be serious!"

"I am."

"Nooooooo!"


	2. The Electric Caves

_**Disclaimer:** I do NOT own Monster Hunter!_

_**Disclaimer2:** The character Atherin belongs to me! He is my in-game character as well as one of my OCs. The character Raven belongs to ShadowRebirth37 and is her in-game character that she uses._

_**Author's**_** Note:** I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter! Here's the next little drabble~ Just to let you all know, not all of the stories are going to match up with the order of the quests. Everyone plays the game differently, and I have half forgotten some of my earlier escapades. However, I will try to get something up about them. Well, here's the next little story~

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><p>It was blisteringly cold up in the Snowy Mountains. Not many people would brave going up there to face it or its dangers. However, one such person, a young man named Atherin* was doing just that. He and his Felyne Comrade, Maggie, were currently getting ready at their base camp. It was nestled in a small clearing, surrounded by trees and protected from the Monsters that roamed around. Atherin had taken an Urgent Quest from the village Elder, and their supposed Mark was somewhere up in those mountains or, more specifically, the cave systems where the creature liked to hide. It had just recently been spotted too, which made it the number one target at the moment.<p>

Once Atherin was ready did he and his Felyne Comrade take off toward the Snowy Mountains. They didn't meet anything too threatening on their way to area two. There were only Popos and Anteka in them, nothing really to worry about. Once in area two though, did he use a Psychoserum, knowing that his Mark would be shown instantly. There it was. Right in the middle of Area 3, a small little dead end spot in the cave system. It wasn't that hard to get in to. All that he had to do was climb up the vines that were in front of him and enter the caves and he'd be right there. He got a Hot Drink out of his bag and took it, instantly warming up. He then took a deep breath before gathering up his courage and entered. He spotted the beast immediately down below. It was rather large, but not as big as some of the other wyverns that he knew of. It was a light grey-white color, with a suction cup full of teeth on its tail and a mouth full of teeth up front. It was blind, and found its prey by using its powerful sense of smell. It also had strong electric attacks, so Atherin had to watch out for that.

This monster was called a Khezu. It made its home in cave systems or in the swamp and jungles. This, this was what Atherin needed to hunted. He had heard some of the stories and tales about this thing from his friend, who had just barely slayed it within the time limit. Now, here he stood, staring down at the creature, in his miss-matched armor and handful of Thunder Jewels. He could only hope that it was enough.

Atherin jumped off of the ledge that he was on, right into the lair of the beast. Its heightened sense of smell quickly picked up on him. It also didn't help that the Giaprey were all over him as well. The large grey-white monster lunged at him, nearly snapping him up in its jaws. The younger hunter retaliated. He swung his sword, hitting the creature's neck and causing it to roar in pain. The Khezu suddenly swung around, catching Atherin with its stumpy tail and sent him flying. He landed in a heap a few feet away, but his Felyne Comrade kept attacking. The wyvern roared before hunching down and emitting an electric field. Luckily Atherin was away from it, fighting off the last annoying Giaprey that was in the area. Once that was taken care of, did he go after the Khezu, hoping to get some hits in before it decided to move or use its powerful electric attack again.

The young hunter only got a few more hits in before the Khezu decided to leave the cave systems. Atherin had used a paintball to track its movements, so then he wouldn't waste valuable time searching for it. It wyvern had flown up to Area 6, an area where the cave systems opened up to. Atherin healed himself quickly before making his way up through the caves. They were carved into the mountain side; the inside frozen over with snow and ice.

He quickly reached Area 6, just moments before the Khezu landed. Atherin watched as it seemed to sniff around, looking for either him, or something else to eat. It seemed to have smelt him, for it turned its blind head toward him before lunging again. Atherin managed to dodge before swinging his sword again. However, he noticed that something was...off. There was a white fog-like substance coming from the Khezu's mouth. Uh-oh…that couldn't be good.

He noticed instantly that something was wrong. Very wrong; the Khezu seemed to be getting even more violent than before. He was now just barely getting away from its jumping electrical attacks. It was honing in on him more than it was his Felyne Comrade, which was alright by him since at least ONE of them was getting some attacks in. Once it calmed down a bit, Atherin made his move and rushed in to attack again. It happened again. Not even two hits in did the Khezu go all violent on him again. It clicked as he was dodging being fried to death from electrocution. The Khezu was in what hunters called 'Rage Mode'. Well, they certainly weren't exaggerating the rage part!

The battle continued on like that for the better part of twenty minutes. The only difference was that, in addition to the Khezu just about constantly in Rage Mode, it liked to keep flying from Area 6 to either Area 7 or back to Area 3, down in the cave system. Atherin was just hoping to see its weakness sign soon. He was almost out of healing items! He had been half afraid of following the Khezu up into Area 6 the first time. That was where he had met a nasty wyvern called a Tigrex, and he had been fearful that it would have been attracted to the sounds of battle. Not to mention that the thing would probably either try to eat his mark! Or him! But, he had been lucky…so far at least. He didn't want to go jinxing himself!

He watched the Khezu carefully now. It was starting to do odd things…well…odder than what was considered 'normal' anyways. It would just stand there, motionless, but he didn't dare go close to it. He was half afraid that it was just trying to lure him in and half afraid that it would suddenly go into an electrified rampage. And then he saw it, however slight that it was. The Khezu was limping. He knew that limping was one of its weakness signs, but he didn't know the other. The wyvern took off again, and Atherin had a feeling he knew just where it would be going. He quickly dashed back into the cave system, heading toward Area 3.

He was hoping beyond hope that it would be sleeping, or going to sleep when he entered Area 3. He only had one more healing item left, and he wasn't sure if he would be able to make it. Atherin tentatively entered the area. The Khezu was right there! Right in front of him! It had just gotten there right before he did, so he kept still, hoping that it would go to sleep. He had a Shock Trap and some Tranq Bombs that he wanted to use. He crept up to the sleeping Khezu, mildly aware that there were Giaprey prowling around and about to be nuisances. He managed to get the trap down before attacking the wyvern. He was lucky that he set it up right at its feet. He went to throw his Tranq bombs, but his first one missed, thanks to a Giaprey being a pest. He quickly got back up to his feet, knowing that he didn't have much time left. He threw one, dodged another Giaprey before throwing his last bomb. The Khezu wavered for a moment before falling to the ground, out cold thanks to the Tranq bombs.

Atherin sighed in relief. It was only after the fact that he realized that he would have been screwed if the Khezu happened to be unaffected by the shock trap, since it used electric attacks… However, he had won. He had taken the Khezu out and that was all that was important. He checked his time and realized that he still had a little over twenty minutes left! He had been expecting to battle against this thing up until the last minute! He shivered slightly before looking around the cave again. If this place wasn't so infested with Giaprey and the occasional Khezu, the caves themselves would be quite nice to spend some time mining in.

By the time that Atherin returned to the village, he was smiling from ear to ear. The Khezu hadn't been as hard as he had thought that it would be. Perhaps his friend was just trying to pull his leg when he told him of his 'adventure' with it. Or perhaps his friend had just had too much of a difficult time, since he refused to change his armor. Whatever the reason was, the fact remained that he not only beat it, but he could now take on some harder quests. He entered the Hunter's Guild, and spotted said friend, Raven*.

"What's got you in such a good mood?"

Atherin smirked at him slightly. He knew that it had taken his friend the entire time to beat the Khezu on his own solo mission. In fact, it took him right to the very last second to beat it! "It's no big deal really. I just finished a solo mission from the Elder. You know…the Khezu one."

"Say what? If you just did that mission then why do you look so happy?"

Atherin smirked at him again. "Because, I beat it with over twenty minutes to spare!" he said gleefully. Raven looked at him dumbfounded.

"Wh-What? How?"

"Well, unlike you, I happen to be an awesome hunter."

Raven scowled at him. "Shut up," he growled at him. He knew that Atherin was teasing him, but still! It had taken him forever to beat that ugly, overgrown leech.

Atherin just chuckled at him before sitting down. He just hoped that the next quest he went on sent him to a warmer place. He had seen more than enough of that cave's interior to last him for a good, long while.


	3. Pesky Plesioth

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do NOT own Monster Hunter!_

_**Disclaimer2:**__ The characters Atherin and Celia belong to me! They are both OCs of mine that I use in-game for the world of Monster Hunter! The character Raven belongs to ShadowRebirth37 as her in-game character._

_**Author's Note:**_ Hello Everyone! I hope that you're enjoying the adventures so far! I am enjoying writing these, as I'll always have my inspiration with what happened to me in the game. This next little adventure is a bit longer, due to the fact that it took me forever to defeat the darn thing. Anyways, I hope you enjoy~

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><p>The young hunter of Pokke, Atherin, was making his way toward the town Elder. He was donning his new and totally hot Cephalos Armor. Just the day before he had hunted the hell out of Cephalos and the annoying Cephadrome to get the materials that he needed to make it.<p>

While taking the quest to go after the Cephadrome he had spotted one for a Plesioth. It was a low ranking quest and he had a lightning based weapon back at home. He had decided to take the challenge. He had fought against a Plesioth before with his buddy Raven, and it hadn't been _TOO_ bad. It was annoying yes, but not as bad as he had thought that it would be. He had decided that he would take the quest today. Raven was off on a quest with Celia. He had left a note saying that they were going to go on a simple Gathering Quest. Atherin smirked slightly. 'Simple Gathering Quest' indeed. So, it would be him and his new Felyne Comrade, Oscar.

He spoke to the Elder for a little bit before accepting the 'Water Wyvern in the Desert' quest. He had made sure that he was already stocked up on what he would need before he left the village, so he didn't have to worry about not being prepared…or so he thought.

He knew that he would need Sonic Bombs, but a) he didn't know how to make them, and b) he probably didn't have the needed materials anyways. He would just have to make do with what he was given and then improvise. After grabbing everything that he would need from the Supply Chest did he run over to the well that was at the base camp. He ate his rations and downed a Hot Drink before jumping in. He landed with a loud thud but got up quickly. He scanned the waters quickly but didn't see anything. He sighed and grumbled before moving toward the next area that had water. When he got there he scanned the water again, but from this distance, couldn't see anything. Atherin readied a Paintball before creeping closer to the water's edge, looking for the Plesioth. He growled in agitation that it wasn't in this area either. Knowing that it only came to this area and the previous area he just left, he hoofed it back to the colder underground part of the desert. He quickly spotted the Plesioth, which, by the way was swimming as leisurely as it pleased.

Atherin's eye twitched when he saw that, but he composed himself before carefully going to the lower level of the area. He quickly and quietly as he could, took out the two small Hermitaurs that were prowling around the area. Once that was done did he ready a Paintball and tried to creep up to the water's edge. He was just behind the water wyvern when it started to make a racket and shot off forward, scaring Atherin half to death.

He quickly ran back a ways from the water's edge, getting ready for when it would jump out. Instead, he watched as it went slightly berserk and swam around; making its soft, whistle like 'roar'. Getting rather tired of just watching it swim did Atherin run up toward the water's edge to Paintball the water wyvern. He missed the first time, but managed to hit it the second. Not willing to waste his precious Sonic Bombs, did he try to taunt it out of the water by using some silly gestures. He had no idea if it worked or if the Plesioth had finally decided that it was about time to eat him, but it jumped out of the water, nearly hitting him as it wiggled across the ground.

Turning around quickly, Atherin lunged at the wyvern, hitting its legs. He tried to stay underneath the beast to avoid being hit with its tail while he continued to attack its legs. Having learned from his previous expedition with a Plesioth, Atherin rolled away after three hits. His intuition was off, but that was okay. It was better to roll away now rather than to be hip checked and sent sprawling.

Keeping on the outskirts of the Plesioth's tail whip, did Atherin wait for his chance to get in close again. The beast tried to hip check his Felyne, but missed. Atherin took that as his cue to rush in to do some damage. He got in a few hits before the wyvern stood up a bit straighter, tucked in its fin-like wings slightly and waddle-ran over to the water's edge and jumped back in.

Knowing that he would have to use one of his precious Sonic Bombs, did Atherin get closer to the water's edge. He waited until he saw the water wyvern dive before surfacing. Before it could shoot a thin jet of water at him did he throw the Sonic Bomb. The Plesioth jumped before jumping back onto land again. Atherin knew that it would go into rage mode, but he didn't think that he would be too badly hurt.

How very wrong he was. While attacking, the Plesioth surprised him with a hip check, which spent him flying, crashing into the only wall that was nearby. He had just gotten to his feet when he was blasted by a het of water. He staggered to his feet, trying to get away so then he could take a Potion or two. But, he had barely started to move when he was suddenly thrown back into the wall courtesy of a tail whip. He fell unconscious after that, letting the Plesioth rage on.

When he woke up he was back at base camp. Oscar was sleeping next to him, and the young hunter knew that his little Felyne Comrade had had a rough time as well. Shaking out the kinks in his sore muscles did Atherin get up to try again. This time, he would be more careful. He downed another Hot Drink before jumping back down the well. He could see the Plesioth in the water, but he knew that it was waiting for him. Before he jumped down did he sharpen his weapon, knowing that if he let it get any duller he'd be in trouble. With his weapon at the ready did he jump down into the lower area again. Both he and Oscar took out the Hermitaurs that had decided to take up residence in the area again before Atherin went to the water's edge again to re-Paintball the Plesioth.

Once it was hit did the water wyvern go berserk again before suddenly jumping out of the water, nearly catching Atherin in its open jaws. The young hunter had just enough time to leap and fall out of the way and get back up again before the Plesioth could stand back up. It was still in Rage Mode, which meant that Atherin had to be more careful. He waited for his chance before rushing in, taking a few good hits out of it before rolling away. He was about to go back in for another round but the water wyvern had other plans. It straightened up, tucked its wings in before bowling Atherin over as it made its way toward the water's edge again. The beast jumped in before heading off to another area. After taking another Potion did he follow the paint trail to the next area over, where he could hear the whistle-like noise that the Plesioth was making while it swam around in the water.

Atherin didn't want to waste time on the Apceros, which was an herbivorous monster, but didn't hesitate to attack a hunter if it got too close or was attacked. He knew that they could cause problems for him, but so long as he left them alone, he should be okay. He was now, however. Oscar had rushed up to one of them and had not only angered the herd, but caught the Plesioth's attention too. Atherin nearly face-palmed, _'Raven's luck must be wearing off on me…'_ he grumbled to himself. He was about to get rid of the dangerous herbivore when the Plesioth decided to come out of the water to cause more problems. Stopping his assault on one of the herbivores, did Atherin quickly sheathe his sword and change tactics. He avoided another jet of water that was sent his way before he went to town on the Plesioth. He was going to do as much as he could before it could run back to the water.

The battle went on like this for a good half an hour. Atherin was startled to see that he only had twenty minutes left! He had made his way back and forward between the two areas at least five times now, but he knew that he had to be getting close to finishing this quest! He was now back outside, since the Plesioth seemed to like this area. It had launched itself onto land and was firing off those jets of water as often as it could. Atherin was right underneath it and finally managed to knock it off its feet. He got in a few good hits before the Plesioth got back up in a rage again. The first thing that it did was to try and hip check him, but Atherin had learned his lesson and moved out of the way. However, what he wasn't expecting was for one of the Apceros' to have 'snuck up' behind him and head butt him. That caused him to be in the direct fire of the Plesioth's jet of water when he got back up…which knocked him unconscious.

He woke with a start before sighing in frustration when he saw that he was at base camp…again. That damn Apceros was going to get it when he saw it next! He checked his map and saw that the Plesioth was still in the area that he had been at. He downed another Hot Drink before jumping down the well again. However, as soon as he got out of the cold underground did the Plesioth decide to change locations…again. He growled in agitation before turning around to go back to the area he had JUST come from. As he ran back, however, he noticed that he was awfully tired from such as short run. His eye twitched slightly when he realized that his stamina was starting to drop. He needed to finish this, and quickly. He didn't have any other items with him that would boost his stamina, so he would just have to make do.

Getting his last Sonic Bomb ready, did Atherin sneak up to the water's edge. The water wyvern hadn't seen him just yet, so he used this chance to startle it out of the water. Apart from being nearly bowled over did Atherin and Oscar go to town on it. Atherin noticed that its fin was down on its back, which signaled that it was weak. He cringed slightly as Oscar was taken out, leaving just him and the irate beast. The young hunter managed to get a few hits in before the Plesioth fled back to the water. Atherin watched as it made haste to the next area, probably to sleep. That was good, as he could then set up the shock trap that he had and end this quest! He had just gotten to the next area when he saw the Plesioth jump out of the water and settle down to sleep. Atherin was just about to start creeping up on the wyvern when Oscar suddenly jumped out of the ground in front of him, scaring him half to death with his 'Nyaaa~'

"O-Oscar! Don't do that" the young hunter exclaimed as quietly as he could… He was clutching at his heart, since he hadn't been expecting to be snuck up on.

"Nyaao~" Oscar 'replied', looking a bit sheepish.

Once Atherin had calmed down a bit did he make his way toward the slumbering Plesioth. He had the shock trap at the ready. He was just thankful that Oscar didn't rush in to wake it up. He set the trap right underneath the wyvern as he got his Tranq Bombs ready. As soon as the trap was set off did he throw two Tranq Bombs, but they didn't do anything. Cursing Raven for giving him his bad luck, did Atherin quickly pull out his sword to try and finish it off.

He had nearly taken care of it before it ran him over again as it dived back into the water. "Oh come on! Why can't you just die already?" he groused out, frustrated with himself and the Plesioth. He checked his time and realized that he had just a little over five minutes to complete this quest! And that wasn't exactly possible if the stupid thing staid in the water the whole time! However he didn't have to wait long, for the Plesioth came bolting out of the water, trying to him in its panicking rage. The young hunter quickly ran over to where the water wyvern was. …well…he ran as quickly as his stamina would let him, since he was dead tired. Atherin got to it before he tried to attack, but the pesky Plesioth dashed back toward the water wasting HIS valuable time! He tried to coax it back out of the water. He was frantic to finish this quest, for he only had two minutes left! When it finally DID decide to grace Atherin with its presence again, the young hunter was down to ninety seconds. He was just lucky that the Plesioth landed so close to him, otherwise he probably wouldn't have made it!

He took a few, frantic last swings before the Plesioth finally fell. Atherin just wanted to fall back and thank his lucky stars that he had been able to finish on time! But first, he had to carve what he could before going back to the village.

Once that was done and he had collected his reward did Atherin go home and flop down on his bed. His muscles ached. He was going to take a quick nap before going on another quest. Hopefully it wasn't as grueling as this last one had been. After taking a quick rest and getting his supplies back in order, did he head back to the Elder. He rifled through the quests, looking for an interesting one to take. When he reached a new one that had cropped up did he stop and take a peek. He couldn't help but to stare at the title, before flash backs came up.

"Err…I think I'll…pass on this one, thank you very much," he said, mostly to himself. The Elder gave him a knowing smile, making his blush, slightly embarrassed that the old lady knew how hard that last battle was!

"I'll just save this one for another time," he added, sticking the leaflet back onto the top of the pile where 'Master of the Giant Lake' stood out visibly.


	4. Not So Simple Gathering Quest

_**Disclaimer:**__ I do NOT own Monster Hunter!_

_**Disclaimer2:**__ The characters Atherin and Celia belong to me! They are both OCs of mine that I use in-game for the world of Monster Hunter! The character Raven belongs to ShadowRebirth37 as her in-game character._

_**Author's Note:**_ Hello Everyone! I hope that you're enjoying the adventures so far! I am enjoying writing these! The story that I'm going to be doing today was one of my favorites to write. I still can't help but to smile whenever I read it. I hope you all enjoy it as well!

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><p><strong>The Not so Simple Gathering Quest<strong>

It was early morning in the Village of Pokke, and a few of the villagers were starting to wake and get ready for the day. One of the village's hunters was already up. She was on a quest for materials and she knew exactly what she was going to get and where to get it. The huntress' name was Celia. She had moved to town about two months after the current town's hunters had come here, but they and the town were delighted to have her here. It made taking on stronger monsters a bit easier, especially since they were still learning some of the ropes. The village didn't seem to mind. In fact, they were honored that three hunters would come to their small town!

Celia had just finished getting her full Genprey Armor on when she heard one of her fellow hunters waking up. She knew that it wasn't Atherin, since he had been taking out Cephalos' and Cephadromes all day yesterday. So, it had to be Raven. They had gone on a few quests together, which is how she managed to make her Shogun Ceanataur twin blades.

"Good morning Raven," she greeted when he stumbled into the kitchen where she was already eating breakfast.

"Morning," he yawned, still obviously tired but curious as to what she was doing up so early. "What're you doing up?" he asked after sitting down.

"I'm going on a simple gathering quest," she replied before adding, "I'm in need of some materials for some new armor."

Raven nodded slightly. "…I… I'm not doing anything urgent today… Perhaps I could…join you?" he asked, suddenly nervous.

Celia smiled at him. She had a feeling that she knew exactly why he wanted to join her. "I don't mind Raven. Just get ready and meet me at the town exit," she replied before getting up. She told her Felyne Comrade, Jet, that he could have the day off as she was going to have some company.

Not wanting to keep her waiting did Raven quickly get into his armor and grabbed his sword. By the time that he got his supplies ready Celia was already waiting for him, the quest leaflet already in her hand. She tucked it away when she spotted him, but before she did he managed to catch a glimpse of the leaflet. The boarder wasn't green, but white, which indicated that this wouldn't be such a 'simple Gathering Quest' as he had been told. However, he wasn't able to make anything else out, which worried him.

"Well? You all set to go?" Celia asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Raven sighed.

Celia smiled at him again, which caused Raven to blush slightly. Great! Just great! What had he gotten himself into this time? Sighing quietly did he follow after the pretty violet haired huntress. He had a gut feeling that this quest was going to be rather difficult for him.

The two hunters arrived at the Swamp. Raven was quickly trying to determine just what kind of 'materials' that Celia was looking for. He quickly went through a list of monsters that he knew frequented the Swamp. The first to come to his mind was the Gypceros, but he quickly crossed that out, as he was sure that she would have told him if she was going to hunt that…he hoped. Next were the Yian Kut-Ku and its sub-species that Blue Yian Kut-Ku. They were plausible. There was also the Congalala. While not his favorite beast, he could deal with it. He knew, for sure, that he was forgetting about one, he just couldn't remember it in his panic of trying to figure out just what he had gotten himself into this time!

It wasn't until he saw the antidotes in the Supply Box that he remembered what else liked to frequent the Swamp. Iodromes were also found here. Those poison-spitting nuisances were a pain to deal with. They always liked to jump around, which made landing hits difficult. But, compared to what it _COULD_ have been, and Iodrome wasn't so bad.

Raven pouted a bit as he got his own supplies. "You know Celia; you could have told me that you wanted to go Iodrome hunting. This isn't exactly what I would call a 'Simple Gathering Quest'," he pointed out as he ate his rations.

Celia just smiled at him. "It's a simple gathering quest if you need Iodrome parts~" she replied in a bit of a sing-song voice.

Raven grumbled slightly, but knew that she had a point. "Alright…I'll admit that you do have a point."

Celia smirked at him slightly when he admitted that. "Right, we're wasting time here just chit-chatting. We have an Iodrome to hunt~" she said before heading north of their base camp. Grumbling slightly about overly happy females, did Raven follow after her. His eye twitched slightly when he saw that she would not be waiting for him, for she was already in the next area up. Knowing that he had asked for this did he follow. Here he had been, thinking that she would be going on one of those simple, easy-going Gathering Quests. And here he was instead, trudging through the muck to hunt overgrown lizards that could spit poison.

Celia was already two areas ahead of Raven. She enjoyed going on Quests with her fellow hunters, but that didn't meant that she needed their constant protection now. She was a huntress after all. She cleared out the Bullfangos that were in the area by the time that Raven decided to join her.

"Taken this Quest before, have we?" he asked when he noticed that she wasn't running on ahead of him.

Celia nodded. "Yep, I took it a few days ago to get a start on collecting the materials that I would need. It seems to be easier to get Ioprey scales this way, rather than trying to get them from the Ioprey themselves," she replied. "The Iodrome should show up so-! Well! Speak of the devil!" she said, indicating the large red and black splotched raptor-like lizard.

The large lizard spotted them before giving its eerie call. The Iodrome looked between them before deciding to go after Raven, since he was closer. Raven dodged, fumbling slightly to get his sword out. While he distracted the Iodrome Celia rushed from behind, spearing the surprised Iodrome. In that small amount of time Raven managed to get his sword out and the Iodrome jumped away from them. It growled at them before trying to jump on Celia, but she managed to fend it off. Raven hesitated to go in and help. To him, it looked like Celia could handle the Iodrome without his help. He then reminded himself that she could, since she had taken the quest before…

As Celia battled the Iodrome she seemed to have noticed Raven's hesitance in fighting as well. She knew that he could fight fairly well, since she had been on a few harder quests with him. A sudden thought came to her. She waited for the right moment before letting the Iodrome get a good hit on her. Like she suspected, Raven seemed to snap. He lost the unsure look that he had had earlier, only to be replaced with a look of fierce determination.

She hung back a little bit, letting Raven get his confidence back as she analyzed just what to do. She was sure that this was just a confidence problem, she hoped. She turned her attention back to Raven, letting him deal the final blow. She would just have to have a little talk with him on the way back.

"Thanks Raven! Now how come you weren't like that earlier?" she asked as she carved a few parts off of the Iodrome.

"…you got hit…" he replied a bit softly.

Celia blinked before looking at him. She suddenly smiled gently at him. So _THAT'S_ what was bothering him. "While I appreciate you defending me, Raven, I'm a better huntress than when I first got here. I can understand why you would worry about me, but I have to become better if I'm to be of any use," she started.

Raven stared at her. Somehow, his meaning flew right over her head. "Um…C-Celia…? Th-That's not what I-"

But Celia cut him off. "Raven, I understand. I really do. And while I appreciate that you have my back, I don't want to be treated any differently."

Completely bewildered, Raven just nodded slightly. "I can do that, for you, Celia."

"Good. And while I'm at it… How come you seem to be suffering from confidence issues?"

Raven blinked, utterly confused as to just where she was coming from. "I don't h-"

But Celia cut him off again, giving him a stern look. "Don't you like to me Raven. I know that you can fight well against other monsters that are stronger than an Iodrome. But I noticed you hesitating to jump in and help."

"W-Well…it looked like you didn't NEED my help, not like you used to anyways…" he muttered quietly.

Celia sighed quietly. "Oh Raven… Of course I'm going to always need your help. You don't see me taking on a Rathalos on my own, do you? I'm just strong enough to be able to take on these lower level quests on my own. Besides, even if we were to do a simple gathering quest, it's much more fun to have a friend with you than to go by yourself."

Raven nodded slightly. He was secretly pleased to hear that Celia had said that she would always need him. They had already reached their village but instead of going back home, Celia was taking another quest.

"Now what're you taking?"

Celia smiled at him. "A simple gathering quest," she replied. "Do you wanna come?"

"As if I had a choice in the matter…" Raven grumbled good naturedly.

The rest of the day passed on in a similar matter until night began to fall. The duo made their way home, finding Atherin collapsed on his bed. However, when he heard them did he wake up slightly to welcome them home.

"So~ How'd your little Gathering Quest go~?" he asked with a slight smirk on his face. Raven grumbled something that sounded like, "the Iodrome got more attention than I did," while Celia smiled brightly.

"It was great! I got most of the materials that I would need for my new armor! Anyways, I'm going to take a shower before heading to bed; night guys!"

The two hunters said goodnight back. However, before Raven could get too far Atherin had him in a playful head lock.

"So~ what's this I hear you complaining about? An Iodrome got more attention than you?" he asked, still smirking at his friend.

Raven glared at him before muttering something.

"I'm sorry? I don't think I quite caught that~"

Again Raven glared at him, knowing perfectly well that Atherin could hear him just fine. "I thought that she was going to go on one of those _REALLY_ easy gathering quests…not…chase Iodromes all over the place…" he groused.

Atherin's smirk got a little wider. "I know of a way to get her to pay attention to you~"

Raven eyed him suspiciously. "And what's that?"

"Well you see…there's this special armor that you can have made…" he started off.

"No."

Atherin continued as if he hadn't heard him, "…and if you wear it, I'm sure even that Iodrome will have trouble keeping Celia all to itself~"

"Hell no!"

Atherin just chuckled at him. He loved how easy it was to torment…err…'poke fun' at Raven. "Well~ Just keep it in mind Raven~ you heard her. She didn't get everything that she needed. I am absolutely positive that she'll be seeing your rival for affection tomorrow~"

Raven blushed furiously, glared at Atherin before throwing a pillow at his still smirking face. He gave him one last death glare before heading to bed himself, promising that he would get Atherin back.

Atherin just chuckled at him before settling back down to get some sleep. He couldn't help but to laugh quietly as he thought about it. His two friends were absolutely clueless about each other. _'A Simple Gathering Quest my foot,'_ he thought, still smirking at the thought of the two of them. He knew that they were each too thick to realize just what the other was doing. It made for great entertainment~


	5. Never Again Without a Farcaster

**Disclaimer****:** Monster Hunter is (c) to Capcom!

**Disclaimer:** The character Atherin is my in game character and OC!

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><p>It had been a long day for one of the new hunters' of Pokke. Atherin had spent most of his day gathering Mountain Herbs, collecting Anteka Antlers and slaying Giaprey. He had just gotten back from taking the easy Mountain Herb Quest when another one caught his attention. It was a quest for gathering Popo Tongues.<p>

He was a little wary of it, as he was getting a bad feeling as he read it over. It was the first quest that he will have taken at night, and that alone worried him. He also noted that he only had twenty minutes to complete it. He didn't know why this particular quest made him uneasy, but it did. He knew that he would eventually have to take it. So…he may as well go now and get it over with.

Once he had taken the quest did he go and get his supplies ready. After getting everything ready he set out, heading for the Snowy Mountains base camp. While the night sky was beautiful, Atherin was too unsettled to really notice it. He gathered what he thought that he would need from the Supply Chest before setting off for the first area. He had been hoping to find some Popos in that area, but he knew that he wouldn't. It was just wishful thinking on his part. He went into the next area, encountering some more Anteka before he started to climb up the cliffs. He could feel his heart starting to pound in his chest. It sounded so loud to his ears that he was afraid that it would give him away! As he pulled himself over the first large ridge he immediately noticed that there was something blocking the vines that lead up the area Seven. He had heard from the villagers that the Popo came up into the mountain when night fell. He also knew from taking day quests. He also knew that there were some in area seven as well.

The young, and new, hunter turned his gaze to the opening of the cave system, knowing that it was his only way up. As he entered, he missed a large shadow move across the moonlit ground, heading up to the summit as well.

Atherin eventually reached the top of caverns. He had accidently hit one of the Anteka that had taken shelter near the exit with his sword, and so got hit back. With his sword drawn he was rammed out onto the summit, not knowing that his bad vibe about this quest were about to come true.

Atherin stumbled out into the open just as a rather large, and rather hostile, wyvern landed in front of him. The wyvern, the Tigrex that had put the village's old hunter out of commission, looked around for the Popos that had been in the area before it spotted Atherin. It roared in triumph, which caused Atherin to freeze momentarily and cover his ears. Once he could move, did he try to run, but he couldn't run as fast as he wanted do to having his sword out. The massive wyvern had him in its sights before charging at him. Panicking, Atherin tried his hardest to move out of the way by heading toward the next area's entrance.

He had just moved in the nick of time, for the Tigrex had almost snapped him up in its jaws! Too frightened to put his sword away any run as fast as he could, did Atherin do his best to get as far away as possible. However, because he was too busy worrying over the Tigrex, he never noticed the rocky crag that was just in front of it. He ran into it, getting stuck as the Tigrex threw snow at him. By some miracle, Atherin managed to dodge it, and wound up in the next area.

Severely shaken and with his heart beating so fast and hard that it hurt, Atherin tumbled into the next area. He looked around wildly, expecting to see the jaws of the Tigrex coming at him at any moment. However, all that he saw were the Popos. Not wanting to stick around up here any longer than he had to, did he quickly make work of them. But, he had only gotten two tongues. He quickly sheathed his sword before hurrying to the next area. He wanted to get out of here. Now.

He had just killed a Popo and had started to carve for a tongue when he felt uneasy again. He didn't want to look behind him. He _really_ didn't. Gulping slightly did he quickly, and praying with all his might, carve for a tongue. He finally got his last one, and now it was just a matter of getting back to base camp alive.

Steeling his nerve and courage, he hesitantly looked behind him. He really hated his gut feeling sometimes, he really did; for there, standing directly behind him with its jaws wide open was the Tigrex in all of its monstrous glory. He had about half a second to react, in which he rolled away, just as the Tigrex clamped its jaws down onto the Popo carcass.

As soon as he was back on his feet, did Atherin high tail it out of there. He could hear the Tigrex roar in fury before it came charging after him. The young hunter didn't dare stop running, even though he knew that his stamina was almost out. He could almost _see_ the look of utmost contempt and hatred on the Tigrex's face. He knew that if he didn't run, he was going to be made a meal out of. And he would quite like to avoid that, thank you very much.

He could see the exit just ahead of him; hear the Tigrex just behind him. Just as the Tigrex had gained up on him, Atherin put on a burst of speed to just barely make it to the high cliff that overlooked the second area. He didn't want to chance running into the Tigrex again so he ran to the edge of the cliff and jumped off. He landed on the ledge that had the cave entrance, but he knew that he would not be safe until he made it back to camp. That thought was reinforced when he saw a dark shadow fly overhead.

When he saw the entrance to base camp he fled to it as fast as he could, nearly collapsing from not only fatigue but from relief. But first, he delivered the Popo Tongues, so then he wouldn't fail and have to do that all over again.

He was still shaking slightly, still looking over his shoulder, even though he was back at the village. He sank down onto his bed, his heart still racing but no longer hammering in his chest. Sleep claimed him and it was filled with nightmares of the Tigrex cornering him and…well…no need to go into such details. Perhaps his dreams had been him in a past hunter life, he didn't know, but if it was, then he and the Tigrex had a score to settle. But not now. He would wait and become stronger before he tried to take the beast on. Morning came, and while he was still a bit shaken and jumpy from the previous night's quest, he knew that he couldn't let that rattle him. So, with his head held high, and looking more confident than he felt, did he go and accept another quest. Before leaving though, did he stop at the old peddler that was near the guild to take a peek at the items that she was selling today. At once a new item got his attention. It was called a Farcaster, and after learning just what it did, did Atherin buy it immediately.

"Never again," he told himself quietly, "Never again…"

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><p>Author's Note: EVERY TIME :C This sucker gets me <em>every<em> time I do this quest. I KNOW that he's there. I KNOW where he is, but he gets to me, EVERY. TIME.


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